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Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has produced a series of ads supposedly with the intention of curbing childhood obesity. I am including some images and video, but after the jump, since these ads are incredibly triggering. Because what they are, simply put, is bullying.

Billboards show black and white pictures of children with captions like, “Warning: Fat prevention begins at home. And the buffet line,” and “Warning: It’s hard to be a little girl if you’re not.” TV ads feature parents and children looking sad and sitting in chairs that creek.

This is just cruel body snark. The ads offer nothing but shame, which I refuse to accept as an effective strategy for health education.

The way we’ve come to link fat and health is an overly simplistic take on a complex reality. What’s not complicated is that bullying is bad for your health. It’s psychologically harmful, which is a health issue, and which can lead to plenty of other negative health outcomes.

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is standing behind their campaign, called Strong4Life. It’s a big project for them, with a budget of $50 million dollars.

I’m saddened by the idea people think it’s not just OK but helpful to be this mean.

To tell them bullying and shame are not health care, you can contact the campaign via Twitter @strong_4_life or on their Facebook page (warning: offensive text and images abound). You can email Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta here. While I won’t advocate calling one of their hospitals and clogging their phone lines, I absolutely support calling their giving line at 404-785-GIVE (4483).

Boston, MA

Jos Truitt is Executive Director of Development at Feministing. She joined the team in July 2009, became an Editor in August 2011, and Executive Director in September 2013. She writes about a range of topics including transgender issues, abortion access, and media representation. Jos first got involved with organizing when she led a walk out against the Iraq war at her high school, the Boston Arts Academy. She was introduced to the reproductive justice movement while at Hampshire College, where she organized the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program’s annual reproductive justice conference. She has worked on the National Abortion Federation’s hotline, was a Field Organizer at Choice USA, and has volunteered as a Pro-Choice Clinic Escort. Jos has written for publications including The Guardian, Bilerico, RH Reality Check, Metro Weekly, and the Columbia Journalism Review. She has spoken and trained at numerous national conferences and college campuses about trans issues, reproductive justice, blogging, feminism, and grassroots organizing. Jos completed her MFA in Printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute in Spring 2013. In her "spare time" she likes to bake and work on projects about mermaids.

Jos Truitt is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Development.

Megan Crabbe, a UK-based anorexia survivor turned body positivity blogger and activist, says she started hating her body at just five years old.

At her thinnest, Megan’s weight was dangerously low. She was in and out of the hospital, and her anorexia eventually gave way to binge-eating disorder and a debilitating cycle between starvation and eating episodes. Megan began to recover from her eating disorders when she discovered body positivity, a movement that encourages people to adopt more forgiving and affirming attitudes toward their bodies and treat all bodies with respect.

Now a critical voice in the movement with her popular Instagram account @BodiPosiPanda (almost one million followers!) and ...

Megan Crabbe, a UK-based anorexia survivor turned body positivity blogger and activist, says she started hating her body at just five years old.

Last week, South Dakota’s state legislature passed a bill that would ban trans students from using gender appropriate bathrooms and locker rooms. This is the first “bathroom bill” to pass, and if signed into law would set a terrifying precedent. There is currently a wave of anti-trans legislation in 16 states, the worst year ever for these bills.

More immediately, this is clear bullying of trans young people in South Dakota by state legislators, who have even proposed genital checks to keep trans kids out of bathrooms, which I hope we can all agree is transparently evil child abuse. A man has already insisted he has the right to use the women’s locker room because of these ...

Last week, South Dakota’s state legislature passed a bill that would ban trans students from using gender appropriate bathrooms and locker rooms. This is the first “bathroom bill” to pass, and if signed into law would set a terrifying ...

In just minutes the Massachusetts Senate will take up Senate Bill 2048, also known as the Healthy Youth Act. The Healthy Youth Act would require schools offering sexual health education in Massachusetts to teach medically accurate, age-appropriate information. Currently, schools are not required to follow a statewide standard for sexual health curricula.

While organizing to build support for this bill at Wheaton College, many people approached us and shared stories of their sexual health education. The stories ranged from used-lollipop horror stories (the metaphor being that after you’ve had sex no one will want you) to a one hour lesson in the entire four years of high school.

Students arrive to college ...

Ed. note: this post was originally published on the Community site.

In just minutes the Massachusetts Senate will take up Senate Bill 2048, also known as the Healthy Youth Act. The Healthy Youth Act would require schools offering ...

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